The Cat: Constellation Reborn
by Mstar the Cat Demon
Summary: It had been a long time since the Cat had descended from the sky and became mortal. Yet the Goddess had more work for it to do, and bid it to return to Tortall once more, this time as a human to guide the children of heroes.
1. Prologue: Estelle

**T H E *C A T:  
**Constellation Reborn

_AN: I always wondered about the Cat, so I decided to write a story about it. I know that in the books, the Cat always appeared as a male cat, but as a constellation, I feel like it could become whatever gender it wants, and I thought that it would be interesting to have the cat show up as a human. After all, the inhabitants of Tortall are always in need of guidance, so who better to guide our favorite character's children than the Cat? Enjoy!_

Prologue:  
Estelle

Rikash Salmalin wrinkled his nose at the new group of pages. For the most part, they were just a group of run-of-the-mill newcomers – green and sure to be moaning of blisters by the week's end. It was the girl among them that caused his nose to twitch. She was the only one in the group, which made a total three girls in page training with her included. There had been a fair number of women made knights since Keladry of Mindelan earned her shield – as far as Rikash knew, there were nine in service to the crown and another two as squires – but there still wasn't an abundance of girls stepping up to become knights. The other two girls that were pages were in Rikash's year, and they were both eagerly eyeing the new female to their numbers.

"I wonder where she's from," he heard Alexi of Queenscove whisper from somewhere behind him.

"She's too pale to be from the South," replied Rea of Kennan, "but you don't really get many people up north with hair that dark."

True, the new girl was rather pale, but her curly hair was just a shade lighter than black. Rikash wasn't particularly concerned with where she came from, however, so much as the nature of Gift that she had. Rikash could always tell if someone was Gifted, and whatever the nature of magic that this girl possessed, it was really messing with his senses. He actually sneezed when it came time for the girl to step forward be claimed by a page sponsor.

"Estelle of Wrenswood," she said, stating as her name and family's holding as Lord Padraig haMinch, the training master, bid her.

"Who of you older pages volunteers to –"

"_I do!_" both Rea and Alexi exclaimed at nearly the same time. The two girls glared at each other and then looked to their master for the verdict of who would get to sponsor Estelle.

Shaking his head at the foolishness of his pages, Lord Padraig turned to Estelle and said, "You are in possession of the Gift, correct?"

"Close enough," the girl replied, shrugging.

"Then to the likewise Gifted Alexi of Queenscove, the sponsorship goes," said Lord Padraig, and Alexi ran forward, giving the new girl a rather enthusiastic hug. Rea scowled at her friend, even though it was really irrelevant who sponsored Estelle – Rea and Alexi were attached at the hip, so the new girl would essentially be sponsored by them both anyway.

"_Close enough"?_ wondered Rikash as the rest of the new pages were claimed. _What's _that_ supposed to mean?_

Now he _really_ wanted to know what sort of Gift Estelle had.

With the new pages dealt with, everyone began heading off to supper, though Rikash hung back from the bulk of the group, wanting to talk to this new page who so terribly irritated his senses. Just as he had expected, the poor girl's ears were being assaulted by Rea and Alexi, who both couldn't stop expressing how happy they were for her to be there with them.

"I think you two are going to scare her off," said Rikash, causing the girls to hush and turn around to face him.

"Well excuse us for being welcoming," said Alexi, grinning, "which must surely be an unfamiliar concept to Lord I-Never-Sponsor-Anyone."

Rikash smiled – he genuinely liked Alexi and Rea, but the truth be told, the two girls were rather intimidating. Rea was tall, muscular, and had a mess of red hair that she kept pulled back into a braid. She sort of resembled a smaller, female version of her father, who was a giant of a man. Alexi was also on the tall side, though not quite as tall as Rea, and was much thinner – statuesque would be an apt description. She also bore the tan skin and dark hair of a Yamani, for her mother was a lady-in-waiting to the Yamani bride of Prince Roald, but had the green eyes of her Tortallan father. As the two had previously been the only female pages, they had become close friends the very day they met.

"This is Rikash Salmalin," Rea told Estelle. "He's a third year page with Alexi and me."

Estelle raised her eyebrows at his introduction, and for a moment Rikash thought that she might comment on his parentage. It was the curse of having famous parents that they were always noted first. However, she instead just held out her hand to shake his. "Nice to meet you, Estelle" he said, noting that she had eyes the same shade of violet as his godmother, Alanna the Lioness.

"Likewise," she replied, "and most people call me 'Stella'."

Rikash felt awkward to just straight-out ask about her Gift, but that was what he had stayed behind to ask about, right? "Um, about what you said earlier, about your Gift – what did you mean by that?"

Estelle – Stella – again raised her eyebrows. "And why do you ask that?"

"Well…" Explaining his particular magical abilities was not the easiest thing in the world. He and his sister, Sarralyn, both had the Gift of their father, as well as their mother's wild magic. Sarra thrived off of magic, and was a student at the University to be a great mage like her father. Whereas her magic was very bold, Rikash's was very subtle. He mostly used it to sense things and communicating with animals, and he had never been comfortable with big displays of magic or shape shifting. He always felt like he lost grip of his humanity when he changed form or used a lot of his Gift. In fact, that was why he decided to become a knight. Fighting, doing things with his hands, and other stuff of that nature made him feel grounded.

"I'm really good at sensing other people's Gifts," he told Stella, "and yours is just… weird. Or, it feels weird, anyway. Am I making sense?"

Stella laughed. "I think I know what you mean. It's not that I'm Gifted, really, but I have wild magic."

"Wild magic?" said Alexi. "Well in that case, Riky should have been your sponsor."

Rikash frowned, still puzzled by Stella. He could normally tell the difference between Gifted people and those possessing wild magic. This girl's magic definitely did _not_ feel like wild magic, but it didn't feel much like the Gift either. What irked him further, was that what he sensed regarding her felt vaguely familiar, yet he couldn't put a finger on it. Deciding that he would except Stella's excuse for the time being and investigate later, he said to Alexi, "It's just as well – you're a girl, and there are few enough of you that a girl should sponsor her. If she has any wild magic questions, she can just ask me. Better yet, she could ask my mother. She lives here," he remarked to Stella. Perhaps if he couldn't figure her out, his demigoddess mother could.

The new page shook her head. "I have it pretty well figured out for the most part. I can talk to cats, turn into one, and heal them. Is there much more to it than that?"

"You'd be surprised," Rikash replied as they arrived at the pages' mess. After they had gotten their food and sat down at a table, he asked, "So your wild magic is with cats specifically?"

"Anything cat-like."

"Ah, so you have feline wild magic."

"What's a feline?" Stella asked.

"Well," said Rikash, "anything… cat-like."

"Why not just say 'cat-like' then?" said Stella, her eyes alight with mischief.

Rikash shook his head. "It's a technical thing."

At that moment, Lord Padraig stood up at his table, calling the pages to silence and blessing their food. When he was finished, their conversation continued. "You have wild magic?" said Lawrence of Port Legann, who was seated nearby.

Stella nodded.

"Then Rikash, why aren't you her sponsor." Rikash's face went to his palm. He dearly hoped that he wouldn't be talking in circles all night.

~*~

The next day, which the pages had off to finish any last minute tasks before training commenced, Rikash visited his parents. The day before, he had moved his belongings from the suite of rooms that the Salmalin family shared into the page's wing, and he already felt just a twinge of homesickness, especially as he was greeted by the menagerie that also occupied his home.

_So are you _not _leaving then?_ asked a rather overeager terrier named Bark, both for the sounds he made and the trees he loved to chew.

"I told you," Rikash replied, "I'm not leaving – not really. If you want to see me, I'm just downstairs in the pages' wing.

"Though he and I are both glad that you came back to visit so soon," said Veralidaine Salmalin, Rikash's mother, as she entered the workroom that served as her family's entryway. She hugged her son and asked, "Is there anything you need?"

"Sort of," Rikash replied. "There's a new page that has sent my senses on a trip."

"And what, pray tell, do you mean by that?" said Daine as she sat down at a table and beckoned her son to join her.

"One of the new pages claims to have cat magic, but it doesn't feel like wild magic nor the Gift to me."

"But you're positive that it's magic?"

"Completely. And even if it _is_ wild magic, what I feel coming off of this girl is way too heavy to just merely be cat magic."

"Oh, this page is a girl?" said Daine brightly. "Alexi and Rea must be happy."

"They're ecstatic, and Lexi doesn't seem to sense a thing amiss, nor do any of the other Gifted pages."

"Well this is strange," said Daine. "Could I meet her and see this for myself?"

"Sure," said Rikash, getting up. "Lexi is her page sponsor, and it's usually not too hard to find her and Rea – they're probably the loudest people in the castle."

Sure enough, Rikash located them at the palace tailors, where Lexi was having a rather… spirited dispute over some work done to her tunics. Rikash brought a rather cross Lexi up to his mother's along with an amused Rea and a tired Stella. Apparently her co-sponsors had dragged her through and across the entire castle and its grounds.

Rikash could tell, from the moment his mother greeted them, that she could also tell that there was something weird about Stella. "So I heard that you have wild magic," Daine told the girl as she made tea and the pages settled down at a table.

"With cats," said Stella cheerfully. As if to prove her point, a wildcat from the Salmalin menagerie leapt into the girl's lap and started purring loudly.

The discussion moved on to how Stella liked the palace so far and whether or not anyone had given her any trouble (many still ardently hated the idea of women as warriors). When the three girls left to finish up things for the following day, Rikash stayed behind to talk with his mother.

"Well you're right," Daine informed her son. "What that girl has is neither the Gift nor wild magic."

Rikash let out a sigh of relief, glad that there was nothing wrong with his senses. "What is it then?"

"Godhood, or something similar."

"_WHAT?!_"

"The girl is a goddess or some other being of the Divine Realms," Daine replied calmly, sipping her tea.

"But… how can that be? Why is she here?"

Daine shook her head, "We shall have to wait and see."


	2. Landing

**T H E C A T:**

Constellation Reborn

_AN: Sorry that it's been a while, but here's the next chapter. You'll see some more familiar faces, mostly from the Protector of the Small quartet. It's not like any of them are super old, so it makes sense to keep many of the same instructors that Kel had. I was on the fence as to whether or not the Shang Wildcat should stay, but in the end, I couldn't resist (she was the _Wildcat_, after all). Also, just to clarify, here's a better summary of this story:_

_The Cat is a constellation that has many times before descended from the skies to guide the favorite mortals of its mistress, the Great Goddess. Once more, the Cat is bid to return to Tortall, though this time as a human. Its job is to guide the children of the nation's heroes, which in theory should be an easy task for the Cat. After living for so long and guiding so many people before, how much harder could doing it as a human be? Unfortunately for it, the Goddess has other plans. The Cat is reborn as a human but has no recollection of its past or its true powers, and perhaps, for the first time in an eternity, it will learn something new._

I:

Landing

_Good morning, sunshine._

Stella moaned, being dragged from her slumber by the claws of the wildcat digging its paws into her side. "Go away," she mumbled, curling up into a ball. Consciousness was not going to get her without a fight.

_But you'll be late for your first day as a page_, said the wildcat. It managed to get Stella's wrist in its jaws and leapt onto the floor, have dragging Stella with it. Apparently, consciousness was armed, and was clearly winning the fight. With a growl, Stella wrenched her arm away from the wildcat and sat up.

"You're obnoxiously awake for this hour," the page informed the wildcat.

_You should be grateful- breakfast starts in five minutes._

"Five minutes?!" Stella sprung from her bed and tore off her nightclothes. "Why didn't anyone wake me sooner?"

_They tried,_ said the wildcat, curling up into the warm hollow on the bed where Stella's body had been._ The maidservant knocked on your door for ages apparently, but you never let her in. Fortunately, Riky wondered where you were and set me to check. Fortunately, you left your window unlocked._

Thanking the gods for her new friends, Stella got dressed as quickly as possible. Outside of her door, she found a pitcher of lukewarm water, presumably left by the maid, so as soon as she had washed her face and teeth, Stella dashed to pages' dining hall. As luck would have it, she wasn't the only one late. The pages still had to wait another five minutes to eat, as a couple more pages staggered into the hall.

"Thanks for sending that wildcat," Stella told Rikash, sitting down next to him once she had gotten her food.

"No problem," he replied. "Tom took a liking to you yesterday, so he was happy to lend a hand, or a paw, I should say."

"So his name is Tom?"

"Yeah, and I bet you'll see him around some more. He's never met anyone with cat magic before, so he's probably gonna stick to you like glue."

"Lovely," Stella replied.

"It's just as well," said Lexi, seated across from her, "since apparently the morning bell is meaningless to you."

"I'm just not a morning person," Stella grumbled.

"Neither am I," said Rea, who sat next to Lexi, "but at least I don't need the local wildlife to wake me up." The younger page scowled and hardly said a word for the remainder of breakfast.

She was nervous, so she didn't eat much. Stella had received some training in the fighting arts growing up from her father and his retainers. When she was small she had watched them spar with swords, and had picked up a stick, swinging it around in imitation. They thought that it was funny, so they began showing her how to wield a weapon properly, giving her a little wooden sword to practice with. Though it had initially been in jest, her father and his men continued to teach her, not only swordsmanship, but archery and hand-to-hand combat as well.

Her lessons did not come easy to her, but Stella was a perfectionist, and kept at every move they taught her until she got it right. She proved to be especially skillful in hand-to-hand combat, possessing unexpected strength and moving with a feline grace that her father attributed to her Gift. Her mother was quite cross with her father, accusing him of ruining her as a lady. However, both Lord and Lady Wrenswood knew that it wasn't true.

Their only child had always been wild, her Gift forever drawing her away from their home and into the woods. When she was supposed to be sewing, she would somehow turn up in the nearby forest, filthy from romping with wildcats. When she was supposed to be learning music, they would find Stella up a tree instead. It was only when she was learning how to fight that Stella would be where she was supposed to be.

The Lord and Lady Wrenswood discovered their daughter's Gift when a visiting mage observed a five-year-old Stella's interaction with the stray cats around the Wrenswood home. Indeed, the cats flocked to her, and the mage pronounced that Stella possessed wild magic.

Even though they would not have chosen a knight's path for their daughter, the Lord and Lady Wrenswood were actually somewhat relieved when Stella asked if she could try for her shield. Though it would not be easy, and Lady Wrenswood desperately wished that her daughter would be more of a lady, both parents hoped that a knight's training might tame their daughter where a lady's training had failed.

Stella was pleased that unarmed combat was the first class that the pages had that morning. It was what she was best at, so hopefully it would make up for her day's terrible start. They entered the training yard and were greeted by a large man with the coloring of a Yamani and a woman that looked like someone's grandmother.

"Good morning," said the Yamani, smiling at the pages. "To those who don't know us, I am Hakuin Seastone, the Shang Horse, and this is Eda Bell," he said, gesturing towards the woman, "the Shang Wildcat."

Stella's ears perked up at the mention of the Shang Wildcat. _That has to be a good sign_, she thought to herself.

"And just because I look old," the Wildcat said to the pages, "does not mean that I am an easy opponent. My face might not have aged gracefully, but trust me, my body can still beat the lot of you into bruised and bloody pulps."

After instructing the older pages to pair up and practice some drills (Stella was disappointed that the Wildcat went to work with them), Hakuin turned back to the first years and brought them to a corner of the yard. "The first thing that you must learn," he told them, "is how to fall." He then demonstrated the proper form by falling forward and slapping the ground with the palms of his hands, breaking his fall. After getting up, he offered a hand to a nearby boy (Ian of Redrick, Stella recalled), who took it and was sent flying over the Horse's hip. Fortunately, Ian remembered what Hakuin had told them, and broke his fall just as he had been instructed.

"Excellent," said the Horse, and then held out his hand to the next person. After he had sent a few other pages flying (with mixed results on their falls), Hakuin extended his hand to Stella. She took it and was sent into the air like the boys.

Though she had intended to do the fall just as the Horse had taught them, her instincts took over as soon as Hakuin released her. She adjusted her body so that her feet were higher in the air and her hands headed towards the ground. As soon as they touched down, she tucked her head and rolled, the momentum of the throw sending her back to her feet.

"What was _that_?" said Hakuin, looking somewhat amused to Stella's relief.

"Sorry about that," she replied. "My mind said one thing, but my body decided to do another."

"She has cat magic," she heard Rikash say. Stella turned around- to her embarrassment, everyone was watching her. "As they say," Rikash continued, "cats always land on their feet. She probably couldn't help it."

"Cat magic? Really?" said Eda Bell.

"Perhaps we're training up another wildcat," Hakuin said, grinning at his colleague.

"Hopefully so," Eda said with a laugh. Turning back to the older pages, she said, "What are you all staring at? Get back to work!" The pages immediately began their drills again.

"Well I suppose it's good that you can fall like that," Hakuin said to Stella, "but make sure you know the fall that I taught you as well." He had Stella fall on her own to demonstrate it to him, and satisfied that she could do it properly, he finished up with the rest of the first years that had yet to go over his hip. By the time he was done with them all and had corrected them to his satisfaction, it was the end of class, a bell calling the pages to another practice yard.

"Well aren't you conspicuous," said Lexi, throwing an arm around her sponsored page's shoulders as they left.

"Like Rikash said, I couldn't help it," said Stella defensively.

"I may have no problem with it," said Rikash, joining them, "but some of the other guys may give you grief. Be careful."

"I'd like to see them try," said Rea, walking over and throwing her arm around Stella's other shoulder. Indeed the towering Rea was a fearsome sight to behold. Once again, Stella thanked the gods for the friends that she had been sent.

In the next yard, the pages were to be taught armed combat by the training master, Lord Padraig, and a man named Sergeant Obafem Ezeko, who had once been the weapons instructor of the Imperial Guard of Carthak. They were instructed to grab a staff from a barrel and to pair up by year. Stella ended up being partnered with a boy named Torren of Ironhill, whose aunt was a Lady Knight, so he had no problem with Stella being a girl. In fact, he seemed quite cheerful about it. After they watched an older set of boys perform a strike and block, he talked with her amiably while they practiced the moves themselves.

"Call me Tor," he said, blocking the high strike Stella sent down upon his staff. "To be honest, I'm glad that there's a girl in our group."

"Really?" said Stella, surprised. "Why?" she said as she performed the attack again.

"My aunt teaches the girls of the village that's on my family's land. Well not just the girls, but the boys and me too. I hate sparring with the boys- everything's a competition with them. The girls just want to learn and don't try to take your fingers when you spar with them. Besides," he said, grinning, "girls are pretty." He suddenly cried out- Stella had "accidently" smashed his fingers with her staff.

"Watch it," said Padraig coming over to them. "Your hands kept getting closer together," he said to Tor. "I'm surprised that she didn't hit them sooner." He corrected Tor's grip and once he was satisfied that Tor was no longer moving his hands, he called for those striking and those blocking to switch.

"That was mean," said Tor, making a face of mock hurt as he went on the offensive.

"Sorry," said Stella, who tried not laugh as she blocked his staff. His "hurt" face was ridiculous.

After they had practiced the high strikes and blocks some more (with no more smashed fingers), a new set of moves, this time set in the middle of one's body was demonstrated. The pages practiced those strikes and blocks for a while and then eventually learned a set of low strikes at blocks.

Sergeant Ezeko was soon calling each block out in time, getting faster and faster and even switching up the order. After he and Lord Padraig were satisfied with the first years' performances, the instructors broke up the pairings by year and mixed all of the pages together. This time Stella was paired with a large fourth year named Ulric of Tasride. He didn't pull any tricks on Stella as they practiced the strikes and blocks, but he spared none of his strength as he struck, and blocked with perhaps a little more force than necessary. Stella's arms felt like they were about to fall off by the time the next bell rang.

"Sorry about that," said Rikash to her as they headed to the archery range. "I was going to pair up with you, but I got put with Lawrence by Ezeko."

"Yeah, Rea and I tried the same," said Lexi, "but Lord Padraig paired us off before we got to you."

"It's ok," Stella assured them. "It was that bad."

All three of the older pages laughed. "Honey, that's a lie," Rea told her. "It's not that he's against girls becoming knights," she explained, "but Ulric likes to make sure that you deserve it. He'll go easier on you next time you're paired with him, but he put Lexi and me both through the rough treatment before too."

Though she didn't really bare any hard feeling toward him, Stella couldn't help but curse Ulric as she forced her aching arm to draw her bow during archery practice. It was all that she could do to string the accursed thing, and her aim was surely going to suffer because of the staff practice. Sure enough, her first arrow barely hit the target, and her second and third weren't much better. She heard a few snickers from some of the boys.

Pretending that she didn't hear, Stella nocked another arrow onto her string and drew it back to ear. She let her mind clear and ignored the pain in her arms, letting her concentration narrow down to that small red dot painted on the center of the target. Normally, her aim was excellent, her eyes enhanced by the nature of her wild magic. Cats had good eyes, so she did as well.

She let go of the bowstring, sending the arrow flying through the air. With a satisfying _thwack_, the arrow hit the center of the target, effectively putting an end to the laughter, especially since her next few arrows hit near the center as well. Her aim didn't fair quite as well for the rest of the practice (the screaming pain in her arms was nearly audible), but all of her arrows managed to stay within the middle fifty percent of the target.

After archery, the pages were sent to the stables for their riding lesson. "You had better hurry," Lexi warned Stella. "You don't want all of the good ones to be gone."

Stella ran as fast she could and was the first first year to make it there, but she soon discovered that her haste wasn't needed. Rikash had already made it to the pages' stable, and he beckoned Stella over to the stall that he was standing in front. "This one's for you," he said, referring to the huge stallion that occupied the stall.

"A-are you sure?" said Stella, uneasily eyeing the horse.

"Uh-huh," said Rikash, patting the horse's muzzle. "For some reason, he won't let any men but me ride him, so it's gotta be you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He won't tell us why, but he just doesn't like men. He used to get pretty violent if any man came near him, much less touched him," Rikash explained. "Stefan, who's the hostler and has horse magic, Ma, and I have worked with him, and he's willing to let people ride him now, so long as those people aren't male. Stefan and I are the only men that he'll let ride him. We were going to send him to the Queen's Riders, but based upon my impression of you, I think that the two of you would be well suited. I mean, as long as you're with him, you won't have to worry about the other pages bothering you. Though he'll allow guys to be near him, he doesn't tolerate any aggression. A perfect warhorse for a lady knight, I'd say."

"Oh," said Stella, looking up at the stallion. She tentatively offered her hand for him to sniff, and was relieved when he didn't bite it. He smelled it, eyeing her, and then to Stella's surprise, he actually nuzzled her.

"He likes you," said Rikash, grinning. "He says that you smell good."

"That's … great…" said Stella, still a little shocked. "What's his name?"

"Oh, I suppose that would be useful, wouldn't it? His name's Nyx, which means 'night'," Rikash told her, referring to the horse's dark coat. "He's large for you, I know, but think that you'll do well together." He gave Nyx one last pat on the muzzle and then left to saddle his own mount.

"Well I'm glad that you like me," Stella told her horse as she got to saddling him as well. Nyx gave her head an affectionate nudge with his nose in reply. As the pages finished getting their horses ready, Lord Padraig went down the line inspecting each page's mount. Though he was satisfied with Stella's job of saddling him up, the training master was not pleased with Nyx.

"This horse is huge," he remarked with a frown.

"Rikash picked him out for me, sir," Stella replied. "He says that he and the Wild Mage have worked with him, and though he won't let any men ride him, he's a good match for me."

"Oh, this must be the wild one that Stefan told me about," said Padraig. "You may ride him, but make sure that he doesn't give any of the other pages trouble."

"He won't, so long as they don't give him trouble," said Rikash from a few stalls down.

"Keep to yourself!" Padraig snapped at Rikash, and then moved on to the next page.

The training master was right, though- Nyx _was_ too big for his rider. Stella was only just able to mount him, and it was because the horse kneeled down a little for her. "Thank you," she told him, patting the side of his head. "Let's hope that I get bigger."

The stallion snorted.

"Hey," Stella retorted, "I can dream, can't I?"

The riding lesson went well, as it was mainly for the purpose of making sure that all of the pages knew the basics. At first Stella was concerned that Nyx might cause some trouble for those riding near her, but fortunately, he just pretended that they didn't exist. She was sore, but satisfied, when the lesson ended and she dismounted.

"Everything go ok?" Rikash asked her back in the stable.

"Yeah, Nyx did great," she said, "though it's going to take me a while to get used to a horse of that size." Indeed, she had to waddle up the hill back to palace, where she and the other girls would bathe in their rooms, while the boys would go to the men's baths.

~*~

After baths and lunch, the pages had academic classes to attend. For the first one, they were split into two groups, the Gifted students going to one class, and the unGifted to another. Stella was unsure of which group she belonged in, but Rikash and Lexi beckoned her to join them. "Wild magic counts as being Gifted," Rikash explained, "or at least to my father, it does."

Master Numair Salmalin was the instructor for the pages' class in magic. "Da, this is Stella," said Rikash, introducing the younger page to him. "She's wild mage that I'm sure Ma told you about."

"Ah, excellent," said Numair, clapping his large hands together. Stella had never seen the famed mage before, and was a little intimidated by just how big he was. Rikash resembled him greatly, possessing his father's black hair and long nose (though he had his mother's blue-gray eyes instead of his father's brown), and looking at Master Numair was sort of like looking at a giant Rikash.

"You possess wild magic with creatures of the genus _felidae_, correct?"

"Um, p-pardon?" Stella stammered.

"Yeah, she has cat magic," Rikash answered for her. "Sorry," he told her. "My Da often needs a translator."

"Well this should be interesting," said Numair. "We've never had a page with wild magic before." He set the rest of the pages to review work, having the older ones work on some basic skills with Tor and another first year that was in the class. He took Stella and Rikash to a corner of the room to work on something else.

"Now what all do you know how to do with your magic?" asked Numair.

"Well I can talk to cats and heal simple injuries- stuff like cuts and bruises. I was once able to get a bald patch on a wildcat to grow back, but I can't do anything for complicated than that."

"Can you shape-shift?"

"Yeah!" said Stella. "I'm _really_ good at that."

Numair's forehead wrinkled. "That's strange," he said. "That's normally the hardest thing to do."

"Is it really?"

"Yeah," said Rikash. "_I_ can't even do it that well."

"You can do it well," said Numair to his son, "but you just choose not to."

"Well _you_ have trouble doing it, anyway," Rikash retorted.

"And that's neither here nor there, since I'm not a wild mage."

"But your point is that it's hard to shape-shift, so technically it's here _and_ there."

Numair shook his head frustrated. "Anyway, it took Daine a while to learn how, and she needed help to learn how. The same goes for him," he told Stella, gesturing toward Rikash, "and his sister. It was hard at first and they needed help. So you figured out how to shape-shift on your own?"

"Yes," said Stella. "It wasn't that hard."

"Could you tell me how you did it?"

"It was a few years ago, I think. I was angry at my mom about something and was talking to a cat about it. I told her that I wished that I could be a cat, and she told me why don't I, then? And, well… I don't really remember the details, but I wanted to be a cat, and the next minute, I _was_ one."

"That's so bizarre…," said Numair, his face puzzled. "That's not how you go about shape-shifting at all."

Stella shrugged. "Well that's how I did it."

"Have tried shifting into different types of feline species?"

"What?"

"He wants to know if you've tried turning into different kinds of cats," Rikash explained.

Stella shook her head. The idea had actually never occurred to her that she could transform into more than just a normal housecat. "Well we can work on that with you," said Numair, "but for now, study this." He handed her a large book of animal anatomy and set her to learning more about different types of cats under Rikash's guidance.

"That was interesting," said Stella, once the mage had turned his attention to the other new pages across the room.

"Hmm?"

"Your dad- he was interesting."

"Yeah, I suppose he is."

"You don't seem to get along with him well, though."

Rikash shrugged. "I have no problem with him. I'm just… frustrating as a son, I suppose."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, to make a long story short- he likes magic, and I don't."

"Really? You don't like magic?" asked Stella, shocked. "But your parents are two of the most powerful mages in the kingdom!"

"Magic and I just never have really mixed," said Rikash. "Shape-shifting, powerful spells- it makes me feel inhuman. Da has always made me learn how to use my Gift- he says that I have to know how to control it, whether I intend to use it or not. He thinks that I waste it, though, since I only use it if I have no other option."

"You seem to have no problem with wild magic, though," Stella observed.

"Well like I said, I don't like to shape-shift, but I don't mind healing that much- whether it's animals or humans- and talking to animals is second nature to me. That's not exactly something that I can turn off. However, you won't ever find me doing any of the stuff that my father does. I'll leave that to my sister, Sarra."

"What does she do?" asked Stella.

"Right now, she's attending the University," said Rikash, "and will probably end up as a royal mage like Da. She's kind of like if you combined my mother and father into one person- she has both wild magic and the Gift, and believe me, she knows how to use them."

"Wow," said Stella. It was hard enough for her to imagine the feats that she had heard of Numair and Daine accomplishing, and even harder to imagine that sort of power existing in a single person.

When the bell rang, the Gifted pages rejoined the other group for the rest of their classes. The next three were in reading, writing, and mathematics, and it was all Stella could do to stay awake through them. She wasn't the only one happy when the math class ended- there was a definite spring in Rikash's step as the group went to their next room, and she was quite certain that he was humming.

"What's up with him?" Stella asked Lexi.

Her page sponsor grinned. "The next class is on plants and animals- his favorite."

Though by no means was Rikash the only one cheerful as they entered the room- after the drab classrooms of the Mithran priests that taught the previous subjects, this new room was like a wonderland. An entire wall consisted of windows, and the other walls had shelves of glass containers with all sorts of plants and creatures inside. The first years were startled by what appeared to be a flying skeleton, which glided around the room and then came to rest on Rikash's shoulder as he greeted all of the animals.

"What's that?" asked Stella, inspecting the creature from a safe distance.

"This is Bonedancer. He was brought back to life by my ma many years back," Rikash explained as he leaned his face near a tank of fish. "Don't worry- he's harmless," he added, after catching a glimpse of the girl's alarmed expression. She was sure what was more startling- the fact that Daine had once raised the dead, or the fact that creature such as Bonedancer once existed. It had wings like a bird, but a strange, elongated head that Stella had never seen on an animal before.

Skeletons aside, the class proved to be fascinating, and the teacher, Lindhall Reed, was ecstatic to have another wild mage in the class. He had a number of books about cats that he lent to Stella, happy to help her learn more about her magic's creatures.

The pages' next class was also interesting. It was about history and law, and was taught by Sir Myles, the Baron of Olau and adoptive father of Lady Alanna the Lioness. He started off the class by discussing the current state of the realm, which was a subject entirely unfamiliar to Stella. Her parents never discussed politics, so much of what was brought up was news to her.

"Is it true that there's been some trouble in the south?" a second year asked Sir Myles.

"Ah, yes," the teacher replied. "There has been some dissent in the desert. Would anyone care to elaborate upon that?"

"Aren't the Bahzir rebelling?" said Tor.

"No, not all of them," said Lawrence of Port Legann. "Just a few, right?" he said, looking to Sir Myles.

"There is a man who has decided that King Jonathan is not fit to be the Voice of the Tribes since he was not born a member of the Bahzir, and this man has now gathered a tribe around him that thinks the same way. Can anyone tell me what the Voice of the Tribes is?" asked the knight.

No one was offered an answer, so Sir Myles cast a glance around the room until his eyes settled on Rikash. "Ah, Rikash- you had ought to know. Enlighten the rest of the class, please."

"I'm not sure of the specifics, but the Voice is the spiritual link between all of the tribes."

"That is correct," said Sir Myles. "The previous Voice was a man named Ali Mukhtab, and it was due to his efforts, as well as the diplomacy of the then Prince Jonathan and Lady Alanna, that our king became the new Voice. This brought peace between the Bahzir tribesmen and Tortall up until now. Does anyone know the name of Bahzir that is challenging Jonathan's claim?"

"Anonn Edi," said a page that appeared to have some Bahzir in his lineage. "My grandmother came from the same tribe as him, and she isn't pleased with what's been going on."

For the remainder of the class, they talked about the raids that had been made by Edi's tribe and the political ramifications of such an upset, as well as the history of Tortall's relations with the Bahzir. Wrenswood was located in the northeastern part of Tortall, near Galla, so Stella did not know very much about the Bahzir. She was sorry to go when the bell rang, calling the pages to their last class.

Etiquette (which was taught by the royal master of ceremonies, Upton Oakbridge) was a subject that Stella had mixed feelings about. She was very familiar with it- whether she had liked it or not, her mother had seen to it that she received a thorough education in that regard. Stella's main problem with etiquette was that it was so _boring_, something that Master Oakbridge's dry voice did little to remedy. However, as much as she detested learning manners and protocol, Stella loved to dance. It was sort of like fighting to her, only prettier.

Unfortunately, dancing was not included in their first lesson. They mostly covered basic palace etiquette, as well as Yamani manners, which Lexi actually helped teach during that portion of the class, as her mother was a Yamani lady-in-waiting.

"Congratulations," Rea told Stella as they sat down to dinner afterwards. "You've survived your first day as a page."

"Fantastic," Stella replied. "Too bad I'm going to die tomorrow. I'm aching all over."

"It gets easier," Lexi assured her. "The first few days are the hardest, but once your body get used to the training, things will be much easier for you."

"And you did really well for someone so small!" said Rea, grinning. "You may be sore, but at least Ulric didn't smoosh you."

"I'm not small," Stella retorted. "You're just huge, Rea."

"She has a point," said Rikash, joining them.

"I'm going to ignore that, so I won't have to hurt you," said Rea. "How did Stella do in your magic class? Did your dad like her?"

"He liked her fine, I'm sure. She's just puzzling."  
"Puzzling? How so?" asked Lexi.

"She just defies the norm for wild magic, that's all."

"There's a 'norm' for wild magic?"

"As close to a norm as there can be."

"It's not my fault," said Stella. "It's not like I grew up around mages like you guys- I didn't know that I was doing anything wrong."

"It's not that you're doing anything wrong, per say," said Rikash, "but it's just different from how most people go about it."

"'Most people' being you and your family," remarked Lexi, "and we all know that you all are the most average apples in the bin." Rikash responded to that by chucking a piece of his own apple at the girl.

Stella grinned. She had really gotten lucky, meeting these people. _I may be different_, she mused, _but at least I'm in good company._

_AN- Phew! I don't think that I've ever written a chapter that long before! Anyway, for future reference, I plan on alternating between Stella and Rikash's points of view, so the next chapter will be told from Rikash's perspective, like the prologue. Thanks for reading!  
_


	3. Page Kitty

**T H E * C A T:**

Constellation Reborn

_AN: I hoped that you enjoyed the previous chapter! Hopefully I'll get all of this page nonsense out of the way over the course of the next few chapters- five is my goal. The bulk of the plot takes place during the squire years, but of course, you have to get through the page years first. Bah. _

II:

Page Kitty

Stella was still a puzzle to Rikash. As the weeks of page training drew into months, he became good friends with the girl, but she continued to exude a divine aura to which she seemed to be completely oblivious. For all intents and purposes, she _appeared _to be a normal girl, or as normal as a girl could be when being a page and a wild mage as well. She was cheerful and hardworking. She loved to dance, she hated to lose, and was glad that she had the opportunity to learn more about her wild magic.

Daine suggested that her son not worry about the girl's godhood, or whatever it was. "When it comes to the divine," she told him, "it's better to know as little as possible. It will save you a lot of headaches." So as the weather turned cold, Rikash decided to give up his suspicions and accept Stella as his friend completely, though hoping that he might one day learn the truth.

The strange nature of her wild magic aside, Stella didn't seem to be particularly divine. Though she excelled in unarmed combat and her archery was superb, she was very awkward with a weapon in her hands. She did well enough when they were doing drills in lines, but whenever the pages were paired up to spar with each other, she didn't know what to do with herself. Half the time, if she was fighting a page that wasn't friendly towards girls and showed no mercy when she got flustered, she'd just drop her weapon and beat her opponent unarmed. Of course, this was not what she was supposed to be doing, so she earned plenty of punishment work due to this behavior.

"It's those accursed practice swords!" she complained one day at lunch. "I was fine back when we were using the staffs, but those swords are just too big for me!"

"You're just going to have to suck it up," Rea told her.

"Easy for _you_ to say," snapped Stella. "If anything, they're too _small_ for you! I know that I would do much better if we started working with daggers or knives, but I know that Padraig would never let me move on until I get it right with that stupid sword."

"Didn't you learn swordsmanship at your home fief?" asked Lexi.

"I did, but the sword that I practiced with was half the size of the ones we're using here."

"I suppose I see your problem then. I don't know what to tell you, other than to practice."

Stella dropped her head into her hands. "I should just forget about this whole knight thing and go join the Shang," she mumbled.

"Darling, you'll be fine," said Lexi, patting her on the back. "And besides, you're too old for the Shang."

"Hakuin and Eda like me- maybe they could get them to make an exception."

She was right- the Shang Horse and Wildcat adored her, and it wasn't hard to see why. Rikash envied Stella's easy grasp of unarmed combat- that had always been his problem area. With weapons, he was an excellent fighter (for a thirteen-year-old, anyway), but he always felt like he was going start biting his opponent or something like that whenever he let himself really get into the fight. Eda was forever chiding him for holding back, which was most likely the reason why he almost always lost unarmed fights.

Stella, however, never held back. She was fierce, yet graceful, her magic with cats working in her favor. It gave her the natural ability to flip and roll like a tumbler, and she always- _always_- landed on her feet. "You could too, if you let yourself," she told Rikash on a particularly chilly morning after practice.

"I know, I know. Ma's been telling me the same things for years," he replied.

"Well, you could always…" Stella trailed off when she caught sight of what they would be working with that day during weapons practice. There was a barrel full of wooden practice daggers and each page was asked to take one.

"Starting today," said Lord Padraig, "we will move on to learning skills with other weapons. However, continue practicing your swordsmanship, for we will review that often." He gave a rather pointed glance at Stella, who flushed a little at the subtle jibe. As she had claimed earlier, she did indeed perform much better with a dagger than a sword, so she was in a cheerful mood until the pages arrived later that morning at the stables for their riding lesson.

A new saddle was with each page's tack, this one with a higher back than the saddles that they were used too. "We're tilting today," Rikash mused. "This will be interesting."

Stella groaned. "I'm going to go flying."

Rikash grinned. "Like I said, this will be interesting. And I doubt that you'll go flying- we'll only be tilting against quintain dummies."

"That doesn't mean that I'll stay in my seat. I'm barely able to stay on Nyx as it is, since he's so big."

"Well if you go flying, at least you'll land on your feet, Page Kitty." Stella threw a spare horse brush at him. She didn't like the name her friend had taken to calling her when he teased her about her wild magic.

"Rikash is being snide," she said, greeting Nyx and rubbing his neck.

_Be nice_, Nyx said to Rikash.

"I_ am_ nice," Rikash replied, patting the horse's head. "I was just trying to get Stella to see the silver lining of her impending flight."

Nyx took a bite at the boy's hand, making Stella laugh as she started saddling him. _I take it that we're tilting today?_

"Unfortunately, yes."

_I'll try my best to keep her in the saddle, but I can't make any promises._

"I know you will." Rikash grinned as the horse whinnied and nipped his rider affectionately. To Stella, he said, "Nyx will look after you, or he's going to try to, anyway."

"Well that's comforting," she said grimly.

_It should be._ Rikash laughed.

"I hate when you two have private conversations," said Stella. Rikash laughed again as he headed over to his own horse.

_Having fun?_ asked Talon, Rikash's mount.

"As a matter of fact, I am," his rider replied. "We're tilting today."

_O, joy._ Talon was a tall, smoky grey stallion, standing just a few inches shorter than Nyx, and had been Rikash's companion for years. The horse had been hand-picked by the Wild Mage for her son's eighth birthday, and he most likely knew Rikash better than any human.

_Has Nyx been causing anyone problems lately?_ Rikash mind-spoke to his mount. A couple of days ago, Nyx had given some handlers trouble, breaking a wrist and nearly taking some fingers.

_No, he's been good,_ Talon replied. _He just overreacted the other day, that's all. He really likes that girl that you've set him up with- she's been good for him. _Rikash shook his head. Talon knew very well that "that girl" was named Stella, but the horse found most humans beneath his interest. He called very few of them by their proper names.

After he finished getting Talon ready, Rikash led him outside and mounted him. He rode over to Stella, who sat on her horse next to Rea, Lexi, and their mounts. The younger page's nerves were nearly tangible- she looked like she was going to be sick. "Is she ok?" asked Tor, another first year, joining the group.

"She's just nervous," said Rikash.

"You'll do fine," Tor assured his year mate.

"How do you know?" she asked. "Have you tilted before?"

"Yeah," said Tor, nodding. "My aunt taught me how the year before last." To the older pages that didn't know, he said, "My aunt's a lady knight- Lady Anetta of Ironhill."

"Is she really?" said Lexi. "I've met her before. My family knows all of the lady knights."

Their conversation was cut short by the train master calling them to attention. Passing out wooden practice lances to each of the pages, he explained the importance of knowing how to wield a lance. He showed them all the proper grip, and after making sure that each of them had it right, he explained how the quintains worked.

"For you first years, you must hit the shield on the dummy's arm, or be hit by the sandbag attached to the other side," said Lord Padraig. "For you older pages," he continued, "you will be set to quintains requiring more precise aim to avoid consequence." He instructed the six first years to line up at a certain quintain while he made sure that the older pages were all at the correct dummies for their skill level. He then returned to the first years to devote his full attention to them.

Stella ended up third in line for the first year's quintain, behind Tor, who couldn't way to take a pass, and Ian of Redrick. Once Lord Padraig gave the signal, Tor charged, hitting the shield solidly and riding past the dummy unharmed. "Very good," said the training master, and once Ian was ready, gave the signal again. Ian started out at a trot, and then urged his horse faster when he got closer to the target. He too hit the shield, perhaps not as squarely as Tor, but rode through unharmed just the same.

It was now Stella's turn. Rikash, Rea, and Lexi, who were waiting in line for their year's quintain, watched their friend and hoped for the best. She lowered her lance, and once Lord Padraig gave the signal, she charged. Rikash knew that she was going to miss before it happened- she had aimed too far to the left. He winced as the sandbag came around and hit her hard. He knew that she could take a hit, but feared that she might be knocked out of the saddle. Luckily, Nyx pranced forward, preventing his rider from falling down. Even though she had missed, Stella looked visibly relieved- it wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be.

~*~

"My back is going to be solid purple tomorrow," said Stella at lunch.

"Tilting's like anything else," said Rea. "The first time is always the hardest."

"Well my back says that not only is the first time hard, but so is the second, and the third, and the fourth, etcetera."

"Cheer up," Rikash said. "I hear that we're dancing again in Oakbridge's class today." And indeed they were. It was always a funny business when they practiced dancing in etiquette class. It gave the boys who didn't think that girl's should be pages the uncomfortable decision of whether they should partner up with the girls they detested, or pair up with one of the other boys, which always felt weird.

For the lesson they were learning that day, Rikash would have preferred to have partnered with Stella- they were learning some rather difficult waltz movements and she always helped him with the trickier stuff. Unfortunately, Tor had gotten to her first. Rikash was quite sure that the younger boy had a crush on his friend, which he might have found more amusing if it hadn't caused him to be paired with Rea. The girl had two left feet, and he was almost willing to dance with another guy instead.

The way that their dancing lessons normally went, Master Oakbridge would demonstrate the dance moves they were learning with Stella, whose mother had given her an extensive knowledge of court dances. Then all of the boys would learn the male part from Master Oakbridge, and then Stella would teach the female part. In theory, the boys were supposed to learn the girls' part for practice purposes, but half the time, they ended up just practicing the male part on their own until they got a turn to dance with one of the girls.

Tor had caught on quickly to the moves they had been taught, so he and Stella twirled around the room, weaving in and out of the boys practicing individually or awkwardly together. Lexi, though she didn't possess Stella's knowledge, was very graceful and able to learn dances quickly. Her partner, however, was a second year that needed a lot of help. As for Rikash, with the right partner, he could learn quickly too.

Rea was not the right partner.

"Ouch, Rea!" he said. "That's the third time that you've gotten my foot!"

"Suck it up," she snapped. "You'll have to deal with much worse as a knight."

"I doubt it. Anyway, isn't the guy supposed to lead?"

"Yeah, you're supposed to, but you kind of suck at it."

Master Oakbridge split them up before they could get into a physical fight. "Kennan, go dance with Ironhill- he seems to have gotten it. Wrenswood, come help Salmalin here, please."

"Thank you," Rikash said to Stella, taking her hand. "That girl was going to break every bone in my foot."

Stella shook her head at him. "You're pathetic." She then proceeded to correct his hold and posture. "And remember," she said, "you're always going to start on your left foot, and _push_- you boys keep saying that you're in charge, yet I always have to lead your sorry butts."

Rikash grinned. "I'll keep that in mind." They stepped off and he was grateful that Master Oakbridge had separated him and Rea. Stella was a thousand times better a dance partner. A small spark of satisfaction flashed in him when he caught a glimpse of Tor struggling with Rea. _That's what you get for stealing my dance partner_, he thought vindictively.

Before long, though, Master Oakbridge once more stepped in, turning Rikash loose and partnering Stella with Ulric of Tasride. Admittedly, it was a comical pairing, so Rikash didn't mind losing his partner that badly. It was funny to watch the huge fourth year dance with the tiny first year, and was even funnier to watch him take commands from Stella as she fixed what he was doing wrong, when normally he considered the girl pages to be beneath him.

"I'm surprised that he didn't squish you," remarked Lexi to her sponsored page at dinner that night.

"You always say that when I'm paired with Ulric," Stella replied.

"Because it's true. It's a miracle every time you escape him alive."

"I don't even see why we have to learn how to dance," said Rea, taking a rather aggressive bite out of an apple. 'it's not like the pages do anything more than serve at events."

"Yeah, but we'll have to dance when we're squires," said Rikash.

"You might- you'll be expected to be a gentleman. I, however, as a lady squire or knight or whatever, won't have to, because they won't expect me to be a lady at all." She laughed and tore into her apple again.

Stella frowned. "Why is that?" she wondered aloud. "Lady knights are never expected to be ladies at all."

"It's because men are stupid," Lexi replied.

"I actually think that it's a bit of a relief," said Rea. "It takes off some of the pressure to act all proper."

"True," said Stella, "but still… Don't let my mother know that I said this, but sometimes it's fun to be a lady."

"Why wouldn't you want your mother to know about that?" asked Lexi. "You seem to like being a lady a lot."

"Like I said, sometimes I do," Stella explained. "My mother would never guess that, though, since growing up, I was always running away from my lessons to go play in the woods."

"You would, Page Kitty," said Rikash, grinning.

"I would hit you, if it didn't involve knocking over the juice," said Stella, from across the table.

"Allow me, then," said Rea, who was sitting next to Rikash. He was able to dodge the hand that she sent to his head, but couldn't avoid the sharp elbow that went into his side.

"You women are so violent," he said, rubbing his injured ribs.

"It's not our fault that you're a glutton for punishment," said Lexi, pouring herself some more juice.

Rikash took the pitcher from her to pour some more for himself as well, and happened to notice Tor glaring down the table at him. Rikash grinned, remembering the dance lesson.

"What's so funny, Page Stupid?" asked Stella.

"I think that Tor has a crush on you," Rikash replied.

Lexi laughed. "I think that you're right!" she said.

Though she blushed furiously, Stella said, "I think that the two of you are full of it."

"Whatever you say, Page Kitty," Rikash replied. "Just hope that he doesn't try to wish you Midwinter luck."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Kissing," said Lexi. "To wish someone 'Midwinter luck', you kiss them."

"I thought that eleven-year-old boys didn't like kissing," said Stella.

"That's just what they want you to think," said Rikash.

"Whatever," said Stella, shaking her head. "I still think that you're full of it."


	4. Lioness, Lions, Cats, and Kitty

**T H E * C A T:**

Constellation Reborn

_AN: Thank you all so much for the reviews! They make me all warm and fuzzy inside… ^_^ Anyway, some more familiar faces shall rear their heads in this chapter. Also, though it may not end up being in a particular pattern, each chapter will concentrate on either Stella or Rikash's perspectives. Though Stella's the main character, Rikash is important too, and his perspective, I think, brings new insight into the story, because through him you can understand what the animals are saying._

III:

Lioness, Lions, Cats, and Kitty

It was three weeks until Midwinter when Stella woke up to Lexi banging on her door. It was the pages' day off, so Stella was very grumpy as she rolled out of bed, not happy about being prematurely roused from her slumber. "What is it?" she growled at her friend after she had opened the door.

"The Lioness is back!" Lexi exclaimed.

"What?"

"She's back at the castle for the holidays! Hurry up and get dressed!" Stella quickly complied. Alanna the Lioness, who was the first lady knight of Tortall in over a century, had been away from the realm's capital since before Stella started her page training. In light of the trouble that the rogue Bahzir tribe had been causing, Alanna had ridden south to see what she could do about the situation. Stella learned in her class with Sir Myles that the lady knight had been adopted into a tribe of the Bahzir back during her early years as a knight, so she was the best person to send into the desert. But now she was back, and Stella couldn't wait to meet her.

As more girls became lady knights, it had become impractical to keep the girls in training from those that had already succeeded. There were still a number of conservatives that believed that Lady Alanna had bewitched her way to her shield, but it was ridiculous to make the same accusation against the other eight lady knights of the realm, especially since the majority of them were unGifted.

It would have been particularly pointless to keep Lexi away from the Lioness, given that the woman had been almost like a grandmother to her growing up. Since Lexi's father, Sir Nealan of Queenscove had once been Alanna's squire, the families of the two knights had grown very close.

Lexi and Stella found the lady knight in the practice yards, sparring with a very large man with curly black hair. "That's Lord Raoul of the King's Own," Lexi told the younger girl, whose eyes widened in awe- she was witnessing a fight between two legends. The girls leaned eagerly against the practice yard fence as the knights clashed swords.

Even though Lord Raoul was at least a good foot taller than Lady Alanna, the lady knight was holding her own and then some. She dodged the man's sword and spun around behind him, almost knocking him over with a hard slap to his shins by the flat of her blade. "You're getting slow in your old age," she told him.

"I'm not old!" he said, bringing his sword to the Lioness's in a blow that almost knocked her weapon from her hands.

"Well then, I must just be imagining those gray hairs poking out of your head."

"I'm still doing better than you are, you hag," Raoul retorted. "Everyone knows that kids make you age more quickly, and I am mercifully childless."

The Lioness laughed. "Ok, I'll give you that one." She suddenly stopped fighting her friend, noticing the two girls watching them. "Alexi!" she called out. "Come here! Don't be a stranger!"

The page hoisted herself over the fence and launched herself at Alanna, who caught her in a tight hug. "Who's your friend?" she asked, nodding towards Stella.

"This is Estelle of Wrenswood," said Lexi, gesturing for her to join them. "I'm her page sponsor!"

"Page sponsor?" said Alanna. "So we've got here a new page!" She shook hands with Stella and looked her over. "Looks like another tiny one," she said to Raoul, grinning.

Raoul snorted. "You _would_ be happy about that." He shook Stella's hand as well and said, "It's nice to see another girl page out there. How's your training been going?"

Stella shrugged. "Well enough," she said. "Everyday's a near-death experience, but other than that, it's been fine."

The two knights laughed. "That sounds about right, if I recall page training correctly," said Raoul. "What weapon do you favor?"

Lexi snorted and Stella glared at her. "None at all, to be honest," she said to the knight. "Though I like archery a lot."

"Stella's really good at unarmed combat," said Lexi. "But if you put a weapon in her hand, the girl goes to pieces."

"I do not!" Stella asserted. "I'm just awkward with weapons, that's all. If they gave me something smaller to work with, I'd be much better!"

"Whatever you say, Tiny." Stella punched her friend in the side.

"Do you have the Gift?" asked Alanna, grinning at the pages' antics.

Stella shook her head. "No, but I've got wild magic."

"With cats," added Lexi. The lady knight suddenly looked surprised.

"You have… cat magic?" she said to Stella.

"Yeah- is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing," said Alanna. "But I once had a cat with eyes just like yours. It's just a funny coincidence… Now did you say that you were having trouble with the size of your practice weapons?" The knight then proceeded to tell Stella of her years as a page, and how she suffered from the same problem. She gave the girl some tips to help her practice and then sent the two pages on their way. Apparently she and Raoul had a meeting that they had to attend.

"Wow," said Stella to her page sponsor as they headed to lunch, "I can't believe that the Lioness really trained with a longsword back when she was a page."

"Yep," said Lexi. "And Lady Keladry trained with lead-weighted practice weapons from her very first year."

"Great! I feel so guilty now for complaining about those wooden practice swords." To make up for it, Stella tried extra hard when the pages resumed their training the next day.

"You're particularly spirited today," said Rikash, taking notice when they paired up for practice drills.

"Well I talked to Lady Alanna yesterday," she said, performing a high strike, "and she gave me some tips."

"Excellent," said Rikash. "I didn't know that she was back yet. I'll have to pay her a visit- she may hurt me if I don't."

"Oh, your family knows her, don't they?"

"I should like to think so. She _is_ my godmother, after all."

"I didn't know that!" said Stella, shocked. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"You never asked," he said, fending off a particularly vicious strike to his middle.

"Well in the future, please tell me these sorts of things."

"Ok," said Rikash as he switched to the offensive. "Well the King's my godfather, for starters."

Rikash nearly smashed his friend's shoulder as she forgot to block. "Is he _really_?" she said.

"Of course. If it weren't for him, I couldn't have become a page."

"Why not?"

"Well technically, my family isn't nobility, but the King made an exception for me."

"That was awfully nice of him."

"Well it's not like my family hasn't done anything to deserve it."

"True."

Every now and then, Stella was reminded with a shock just how related Rikash was to the important people of Tortall. During the Midwinter banquets, he was one of the pages assigned to wait on the head table, as he knew pretty much everyone seated there by name, and they knew him as well. Also, Sir Myles called on him often in class, as Rikash had heard much of Tortall's recent history firsthand from the people that had been involved with whichever conflict they were studying.

"I was actually named after one of the Stormwings that sided with us," he told his friends one evening when he was helping them study the Immortals War. After Midwinter, the pages' teachers had begun piling more homework on them than ever before, all in preparation of the exams that they would take at the end of the year. Stella was grateful to have Rikash there to help them with their history homework. He was, after all, the best in the class.

"I don't think that I would like to be named after a Stormwing," said Ian of Redrick, a yearmate of Stella's that had joined them in Rikash's room to study.

Rikash shrugged. "It's not a big deal. Stormwings are actually not as bad as people make them out to be."

"Do you interact with Immortals often?" asked Tor, another of Stella's yearmates.

"Every now and then, though not much since I started page training…" he trailed off, looking thoughtful. "I wonder which Immortals you could communicate with," he said to Stella. "Griffins are half feline, but the part with their brain is avian- we might have to experiment this summer."

"Or how about not," said Stella, shaking her head. "I'd rather not die, if it's all the same."

"No animal is going to attack you if you're with me," said Rikash. "And I've never had any problem with Immortals."

"You're insane," Stella informed him. "Now could you _please_ explain to me what exactly caused the Immortals War? I still don't get it."

~*~

The first time that Stella got into a fight came a month after Midwinter. She was on her way back to her room after returning a book to the palace library when she came across a group of boys harassing a stray cat. She recognized the boys to be some of the older pages, and it looked like they had been testing out a new belt knife on the poor creature.

"Leave it alone!" she shouted at them, infuriated. _Come here!_ she mind-spoke to the cat. With the boys suddenly distracted, the cat ran to the safety of the shadows behind Stella.

"Oh, look- it's the cat girl," sneered a muddy-haired third year.

"Perhaps we should cut up her too?" said another boy, a blonde second year.

"Only a monster would do that to a defenseless creature," said Stella. "You shame yourselves as pages."

The boys roared with laughter. "I suppose that you're defenseless too," said the third year, who seemed to be the leader of the group. "Considering that you always have those yearmates of mine with you," he said, referring to Rikash, Lexi, and Rea, "I guess that's true."

"Let's see how tough she is by herself," said the blonde, and the group started towards her.

Stella shifted into a fighting stance and took stock of her opponents. In addition to the second and third year, there were two more boys- another second year and a fourth year. They were all unarmed except for the third year- he held the belt knife that they used on the cat. Disarming him was what she needed to do first.

As the group started to circle around her, Stella lunged at the third year, ducking a punch that he threw at her and delivering a kick to the wrist with the knife. He cursed as he dropped it and Stella sent another kick to his head, knocking him onto the ground. She suddenly felt herself being lifted up by one of the fourth years, who had wrapped his arms around her tightly. The blonde second year managed to land a couple of punches to Stella's face before she got her legs up and kicked him away from her. He fell against the other second year, making both of them hit the floor.

Unfortunately, the third year was back up and had the knife in hand again. Stella knew that she had to get out of the fourth year's grasp, but before she could do anything, he suddenly let go with a yelp. Stella looked behind her briefly to see that the cat from before had leapt onto the boy's back. She turned her attention back to the third year, who was running at her with the knife.

She didn't quite dodge his stab and the knife grazed her shoulder painfully. She dropped to the ground and swept her leg across the floor, knocking the boy's feet out from under him. He dropped the knife again and Stella made a dive for it, but the two second years each got a hold of one of her arms. The third year got up and was about to plunge the knife into her, when suddenly, he was yanked back by a fifth boy.

To Stella's surprise, it was Ulric of Tasride, a very large fourth year that most of the pages preferred not to fight. "Four against one is not a fair fight," he said, taking the knife from the third year. To the second years holding Stella, he said, "Let her go if you enjoy being conscious." They quickly released her and scurried off, and were joined by the third year once Ulric let go of him. "You might want to call off your friend," said Ulric to Stella, referring to the fourth year that was still struggling with the cat.

_The fight's over,_ she said to the cat mentally. _Thank you, though!_ The cat let go of the boy and dropped to the floor, the now bloody fourth year escaping after his friends.

_You're welcome_, said the cat, sashaying over to Stella. _It was the least I could do._ It rubbed up against Stella's leg, smearing blood onto her breeches.

"Let's get you to a healer," said Ulric, looking the younger page over. "You're a mess."

"Oh, um… thank you," said Stella awkwardly, following him as he began to walk down a corridor. _Come with me, so I can take care of you too,_ she said to the cat that had stayed behind. It ran after her and she picked it up, which smeared her tunic with blood as well.

"What exactly happened?" asked Ulric as they walked.

"They were cutting up this cat," Stella replied, "and I put a stop to it."

"You're lucky that you didn't get caught."

"I wouldn't have gotten in trouble, would I? It's not like I was doing anything wrong!"

"You _were_ fighting."

"But _they_ started it! I'm a cat mage after all- it's not like I could've just ignored what they were doing!"

Ulric nodded, conceding that she had a point. He came to a stop in front of a door and knocked on it. It was answered by a tall man with brown hair swept back from a widow's peak and bright green eyes that looked oddly familiar…

"_What_," said Alexi of Queenscove, pushing the man out of the doorway, "have you been doing?" Stella suddenly recalled where she had seen the man's eyes before- they were the same ones that were blazing in the face of her friend.

"Fighting," answered Ulric. "May we come in?" The two entered the room, which in addition to Lexi and the man who had answered the door, it was occupied by a much older man who resembled the other in the face, but his hair had more red in it, as well as a fair amount of gray.

"Ah, pages," he said. "Friends of yours?" he asked Lexi.

"Unfortunately, yes," she said. "Sit," she told Stella, referring to a chair next to a table laden with various healing supplies. To the men, she said, "This is Estelle of Wrenswood, the page that I'm sponsoring. And this," she said gesturing to Ulric, "is Ulric of Tasride, a fourth year."

"Why is it that you girls seem to get into more trouble than most pages?" said the younger man, grinning.

"It's not like we ask for it!" snapped Lexi. "This is my dad, Sir Nealan of Queenscove," she told Stella and Ulric. Referring to the other man, she said, "And this is my grandfather, Duke Baird, the Chief Healer of Tortall."

"Um, pleased to meet you," said Stella, extending a bloody hand. She looked down at it, and then quickly retracted it. "Sorry," she said. "This cat's a mess."

_It's not my fault_, said the cat.

"I know it's not," Stella replied, scratching its head.

"She has cat magic," Lexi explained to her family, who looked puzzled.

"Daine mentioned that there was a new page with wild magic," said Sir Nealan. "Should we get the cat to her for healing, or do you have it covered?"

"I should be fine once I myself am healed," said Stella. "I hope it's not too much trouble."

"It's no trouble at all," Duke Baird replied, pulling up a chair in front of his patient. "It's what we're here for, or I should say, it's what _I'm _here for." He inspected the wound on Stella's shoulder and to his granddaughter, he said, "Lexi, could you fetch me a bowl of fresh water to clean this cut?"

"So what exactly happened to you?" asked Lexi's father while his daughter retrieved the water.

Stella explained what had happened and when once she had finished, Sir Nealan laughed. "You sound like my friend, Lady Keladry," he explained. "She was always doing that sort of thing back when we were pages."

Duke Baird shook his head and cleaned Stella's cut. "If I recall correctly, you were involved in a number of those fights as well," he said to his son. "I probably got more gray hairs during your four years as a page than during any other period of my life." Emerald fire blazed as he healed Stella's shoulder. He also fixed a split lip and a black eye that she had received, as well as a number of nasty bruises.

"That should be it," said Stella, once he was done. "May I use your supplies on this cat? I only need some cloth and water to clean its cuts." The Duke complied, and Stella set to fixing up the cat.

"Do you know a lot about healing cats?" asked Baird, looking mildly intrigued as he watched the girl work.

"Well I used to only be able to do cuts and bruises," she replied, "but since I started taking lessons with Master Numair and Rikash, I can now mend bones as well."

Sir Nealan frowned. "You don't take lessons with Daine?"

"Sometimes I do," said Stella, "but often times, she's busy, and most of what I'm learning now Rikash is able to teach me. He's really good at healing."

"He could do much more if he wanted to," said the knight, "but Daine says that he doesn't like magic much."

Lexi snorted. "That's an understatement," she said. "He frustrates Master Numair to no end."

Stella finished up healing the cat and got up to leave with it, as well as Ulric and Lexi, who also needed to head back to the pages' wing. "Thank you, Duke Baird and Sir Nealan" she said, curtsying to each of them in turn.

"You're welcome," said Lexi's father, "and please, call me Neal."

"Come back if you get into anymore trouble," added Baird. The two men hugged Lexi and sent the group on their way.

"Your family's colorful," remarked Stella.

"And you need to stay out of trouble," said Lexi.

"It's not like I was looking for it! I'm just glad that Ulric showed up when he did. Again, thank you," she said to him.

"No problem," said Ulric. "Just if I were you, I'd stay away from Jason and his lot."

"Jason? Who's Jason?" asked Stella.

"He's that third year with the knife- Jason of Port Caynn. His father has a lot of pull in court with the conservatives, so he has a bit of a following with some of the pages."

"And you really should stay away from him," advised Lexi. "He gave Rea and me a bit of trouble back when we first started training, but he left us alone after we became friends with Rikash."

"Yeah," said Ulric, "you don't wanna mess with Salmalin unless you want to be thrown from your horse or something like that."

"Has he done that to anyone?" asked Stella, who had a hard time imagining Rikash doing something that mean to anyone.

"Only once during our first year," said Lexi. "He asked Jason's horse to throw him and he hasn't had to do it since. Jason broke three bones, and though the guy may be an idiot, he learned his lesson. That's probably the reason why you haven't had any trouble before now."

Stella was left with a lot to contemplate that night as she went to bed. _Who's that?_ asked Tom, the wildcat that unofficially lived in Stella's room and often acted as her morning wake-up call. He and the cat that Stella had healed eyed each other warily.

"A friend that I saved," Stella replied, realizing that she didn't know the name of the cat in question.

_My name's Evey,_ said the cat. _And you are?_

_Tom, and this is my place, not yours._ The two cats hissed at each other.

"Oh, good grief," said Stella. "She was just healed from a fight, so leave her alone," she said to Tom. "And you," she said to Evey, "don't pick a fight with him, because he's twice your size and would kick your butt."

_I could take him._

"Of course," said Stella, "just like you took on those boys."

_That doesn't count- I was outnumbered._

Tom was now interested. _What exactly happened?_ he asked.

As the cats began discussing tactics for fighting humans, Stella had the feeling that it was going to be a long night.


End file.
